U.S. Men's Marathon Olympic Trials

For American male marathoners, the road to Beijing will run through the heart of New York City. Held the day before the ING New York City Marathon, it will be a huge spectacle for American running, one that could draw more than 100,000 spectators.

“It’s going to be awesome,” says 2004 U.S. Olympic trials champion Alan Culpepper. “Every event the New York Road Runners puts on is first-rate. They’re on top of every detail and really know how to do it right.”

Unlike the Olympic route in China, the Olympic trials course through Central Park will not be flat. Runners will start at Rockefeller Center, zig-zag over to a long straightaway on 7th Avenue and then, shortly after passing the mile mark, enter the park for the criterium-style loop course that ends at the traditional marathon finish near the Tavern on the Green.

It has few flat sections after entering the park, which means it’s built for strength runners, not those who favor long sections of rhythmic running at an even pace. Many of the frontrunners admit they’ve studied the course in detail, measuring the length of certain hills so they know when and where they can surge.

The race will have one of the deepest fields in American history, both in terms of those capable of running under 2:10 and the group of a dozen or so others who have already run 2:16 or faster.

“It’s as good of a field as you’d see in any major international marathon,” says Dathan Ritzenhein, who placed 11th at last year’s ING NYCM, his debut at 26.2 miles “But the marathon is so unpredictable and anything can happen. There are going to be some really good runners who aren’t going to make the team.”

The Favorites(listed alphabetically, with PRs)

Abdi Abdirahman, 30, Tucson, AZ, 2:08:56

Although he strung together a solid track season — clocking a 27:31 at a Grand Prix 10,000 in the Netherlands, winning his third U.S. title in 28:13 and racing in the World Championships — Abdirahman’s focus is on the marathon. He ran like a champion at the New York City Half-Marathon in August, finishing second (in a 1:00:29 PR) to Haile Gebrselassie (59:24). He probably won’t run another race after competing in the 10,000 at the World Championships in Osaka. Instead,

He planned to return to Flagstaff to ramp into marathon training at high altitude. “You’re going to have to respect every runner and be able to react,” says Abdirahman, a two-time Olympian at 10,000. “There will be eight to 10 guys who are capable of making a move that can change the race.”

Alan Culpepper, 35, Lafayette, CO, 2:09:41

This two-time Olympian is the elder statesman of the American running scene, but he hasn’t lost a step this year. He won a hard-fought U.S. cross country title and then ran a 27:50 in the 10,000 at the Cardinal Invite in the spring. He opted not to race in Europe this summer, taking a short break after finishing fourth at the U.S. 10,000 in June. He finished sixth at the New York City Half-Marathon (1:03:34) in early August just before he started his marathon training program. He has five marathons under his belt, most recently his fifth-place finish (2:11:02) at Boston in 2006. “I kind of like the criterium-style course because it kind of breaks up the race into smaller segments,” he says. “I’ve run on it several times, including four more loops after the half marathon (in August), so I think I have it dialed in pretty well in my head.”

Peter Gilmore, 30, San Mateo, CA, 2:12:45

He might not be a household name, but Gilmore has been one of the country’s most consistent marathoners since finishing eighth at the 2004 trials race in Birmingham. That includes New York last year (10th, 2:13:13) and Boston in 2006 (seventh, 2:12:45) and 2007 (eighth, 2:16:41). Hampered by plantar fasciitis in his right foot since the spring, he ran slower than he expected at the New York City Half-Marathon in early August (1:05:02). But he says he was happy to get another close-up look at the course. “It’s going to a bruiser of a course,” he says. “There will be a lot of tactics going on and it’s going to be a sufferfest in the end.” After running the New Haven 20K on Labor Day, Gilmore planned to spend three weeks training at high altitude in Flagstaff.

Ryan Hall, 25, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 2:08:24

In any other year, Hall’s sterling 2:08:24 debut effort in London and his 59:43 American record in the half marathon in Houston would be enough. But because this is a trials year, he’ll have to run another gem to make the year complete. With the exception of vast marathon experience, Hall seems to have plenty of upside, which is why a lot of his peers have tabbed him as the trials favorite. He’s run well in New York before, winning the 2006 12K U.S. Cross Country title in Van Cortlandt Park, and has a history of running well in big races. “The trials course is really technical and it favors someone who is really strong,” says Hall, who also ran a 28:07 PR in the 10,000 this year. “Being up in altitude and training in the mountains should help a lot.”

Meb Keflezighi, 32, San Diego/Mammoth Lakes, CA, 2:09:53

Keflezighi is capable of winning another medal to go with the silver he won in Athens, but making the U.S. team could be a taller order than it was in 2004. He was hampered early in 2007 with a blister that led to him to dropping from the London Marathon and eventually taking about a month off from training. Once his foot healed, he ran himself back into shape with a pair of fourth-place finishes at Bix 7 and Beach to Beacon and a second at Falmouth. His plan was to run a low-key 3,000 in Europe and then try to run a 10,000 qualifier before returning to the U.S. to begin his marathon training. His last tune-up race was scheduled to be the Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon in San Jose on October 14.

Dathan Ritzenhein, 24, Eugene, OR, 2:14:01

Ritzenhein moved from Boulder to Eugene in the spring so he could run at lower altitudes and on softer surfaces in preparation for the trials marathon. He’s been healthy since recovering from a stress fracture that followed his third-place finish at the U.S. Cross Country Championships. He rebounded with a win at the Healthy Kidney 10K (28:08) in New York City, finished third in the U.S. 10,000 in Indianapolis and then ran a 13:16 PR in a 5,000 in Belgium. Although next summer’s 10,000 trials race on the track will be a priority, Ritzenhein wants to make the Olympic marathon team. He ran the 10,000 in Osaka and might run the BUPA Great North half marathon on September 30, depending on when his wife, Kalin, gives birth to the couple’s first child.

Brian Sell, 29, Rochester Hills, MI, 2:10:47

Few Americans have made the continual gains Sell has in the last four years. Since finishing 13th in the trials marathon in 2004, he’s won a national 25K title (2005) and a U.S. half marathon crown (2006) and finished fourth at Boston (2006) and sixth in Chicago (2006). (For more about Brian Sell, see page 20.)

Clint Verran, 32, Rochester Hills, MI, 2:14:12

One of the most experienced marathoners in the field, Verran will be running in his third Olympic trials. (He was 11th in 2000 and fifth in 2004.) He’s seen a lot of runners come and go and a lot of so-called race favorites fail to earn Olympic team berths. He’s not going to get caught up in the hype that will be hovering over Central Park in the days before the race. “There’s not a flat spot on the course, and I think the race is going to favor a strength-type runner, and that suits me well,” he said.

“But, as with any marathon, it’s going to be a battle of attrition.” Verran ran close to his PR at the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon in early June (finishing second to Sell in 1:04:18) and then he cranked out a 4K time trial in 11:07, roughly equivalent to his 13:50 5,000 PR.

Dark horses

Almost every Olympic trials marathon produces at least one surprise podium finisher, someone who runs from the outskirts of reality to earn an Olympic team berth. Given the fickle nature of the marathon and the depth of this year’s field, there’s a good chance an unsung runner will emerge in New York, too. There are more than a dozen runners with the talent and training to finish in the top three, but it will likely come down to who’s the hungriest dog in the pack or who can best channel Mark Conover’s 1988 performance. “The trials have a weird way of shaking things out,” says Verran, “but there’s always someone in there that no one expected.”

. . .Former world record holder Khalid Khannouchi ran a 2:07:04 in London in 2006, but this year the oft-injured 35-year-old has run a 1:04:58 half marathon, DNF’ed in London and finished 14th in 30:06 at the Healthy Kidney 10K in New York City in May. With three sub-2:06 efforts on his resume, there’s no doubt he could still be among the best marathoners in the country. But he’s not a shoe-in like he was supposed to be in 2004 when injuries kept him from running.

. . .Although he has yet to run a marathon, don’t count out Anthony Famiglietti, a native New Yorker who’s run 27:37 on the track. Famiglietti has repeatedly said he’d love to earn an Olympic berth on his home turf.

. . . And whatever happened to Josh Cox? Once the golden boy of American marathoners, he has been sidelined with injuries, reality TV shows and the illness and subsequent death of his father. He hasn’t finished a marathon since he placed seventh (2:15:18) at the 2004 trials in Birmingham, but the 31-year-old has been training like a fiend in Mammoth with Browne and Keflezighi (and keeping a video diary at www.youtube.com/jaycarbon), but still needs a qualifying time or a waiver to get in.

TV Coverage

Unfortunately, the men’s trials race won’t be covered live on TV. But the 7:30 a.m. (EDT) start will be featured live on NBC’s “Today” show and the entire race will be carried live on NBCSports.com. Plus, a 30-minute taped, wrap-up show will be aired at 1:30 p.m. later that day.

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